Suture packages containing armed sutures typically incorporate a means for securing the needle to the package so that the needle does not move while being grasped with suture forceps. The needle holder must also secure the needle from movement during shipping of the package, a requirement that prevents the needle point from possibly causing damage to the suture as well as preventing damage to the needle itself.
Needle holders for suture packages have taken many forms. Frequently, the point of the needle is inserted through a piece of plastic foam to hold it secure. The use of flaps cut from the packaging material is also common, the flap compressively holding the needle against the surface of the adjacent packaging material. Some flaps incorporate a slit through which a needle is placed, as taught by U.S. Pat. No. 4,884,681. Another alternative is described by U.S. Pat. No. 4,961,498, which involves a flexible rail and an adjacent post wherein a needle is held captive between the rail and post.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,424,898 teaches the construction of a needle holder incorporating adjacent pedestals having straight slots between the adjacent pedestals, wherein curved needles are fitted into the straight slots. The resulting interference due to the curvature of the needle retains the needle within the straight slot.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,699,271 describes a needle holder using two parallel ridges having pairs of shaped slots extending in predetermined curves across a U-shaped notch, wherein the curves are chosen to match the curvature of the needle intended to be fitted into a pair of slots.